Improvement in machines for cutting files



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JAMES C. COOKE, OF MIDDLETOWN, CONNECTICUT.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 52,041, dated February 20, 1866.

To all whom 'it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, JAMES C. COOKE, of Middletown, in the county of Middlesex and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and Improved Machine for Cutting Files; and I' do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specication, in which- Figure 1, Sheet No. l. is a rear elevation of my invention; Fig. 2, Sheet No. 2, a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3, Sheet No. 3, a vertical section ot' the same, taken in the line x a', Fig'. l 5 Fig. 4, Sheet N o. 4, a detached bottom view or inverted plan ot' the cutter-stock; Fig. 5, a detached longitudinal central section ofthe feed-shaft; Fig. 6, a detached lon gitudinal central section ot' the shaft pertaining to the file-adjusting mechanism, and Fig. 7, a detached plan or top view ot' the sliding ilebed.

Similar letters ot' reference indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to a new and improved machine for cutting tiles and rasps of all kinds 5 and it consists in a novel construction and arrangement of a cutter-stock applied to a sliding head in suoli a manner that the cutter is rendered capable of being adjusted with the greatest facility in the several positions relatively7 with the ijle-blank thatit is necessary to have in order to cut the le properly'.

The invention also consists in a novel manner of securingthe tile-blank in its bed, whereby the blank may be secured in the bed and the finished tile removed therefrom very` expeditiously.4

The invention also consists in certain means for automatically adjusting the tile-bed for the purpose ot' compensating for any variation in the thickness of the blank, and insuring a cut ot' uniform depth throughout the en tire length of the blank.

The construction and operation of the several parts are described as follows:

A represents a framing, which may be constructed in any proper manner to support the workin g parts, and having a horizontal driving-shaft, B, in its upper part, on which an eccentric journal or arm, C, is turned. This eccentric C is connected, by a pitman or metallic strap, D, to a sliding head, E, which is tted on inclined guides a a in the framing A, so that it will work up and down in an oblique plane at an anglesay of about forty-live degrees-the head E beingoperated bythe eccentric C and strap or pitman D. This hea-d E is formed with a circular recess. b, to receive the upper end of a cutter-stoclL-F, which is otl circular form, or has a circular plate, c, at its upper end, and the stock F is secured to the head E by means of bolts G, which have hooks or lips d at their lower ends to lap over the edge ofthe plate c, as shown clearly in Fig. 3.

The cutter H is secured to the stock F by means of a clamp composed of a bar, I, and screws c c, the latter passing into the stock at each side of the cutter, and the upper end of the cutter bears against a screw, J, which is tted within the stock in such a manner as to slide therein. and has a nut, f, upon it, by turning which the screw may be raised or lowered to adjust the cutter higher or lower, as may be desired. This will be fully understood by referring to Fig. 3.

The cutter H has an inclined position so as to cut the -le-blank regularly, and it will be seen from the above description that the means employed for securing the lcutter-stock F- to the sliding head E admits of the stock being readily turned by loosening the bolts G, so that the cutter H may be adjusted to make a more or less oblique or diagonal cut in the tileblank, as may be desired, the stock, when adjusted, being secured in position by tightening the bolts G, which is done by screwing upthe nuts g of said bolts. The stock F, it will be seen, when thus adjusted to regulate the position ot' the cutter H relatively with the lileblank, turns around a vertical axis-as the upper circular plate c of the head-is in a horizontal plane or parallel with the file-bed, and abuts against a portion of the head E, which is also parallel with the file-bed. It' these three surfaces are parallel with each other and the axis ot'l the stock F at right angles therewith, whether "ertical or not, the stock F may be turned, and the cutter H adjusted to make a more or less oblique cut on the tileblank, and the cutting-edge of the cutter will always be parallel with the upper surface of the tile-blank, and consequently a proper relative position ot' said parts always preserved.

I represents a bed, in the upper part ot' which a slide, J, is fit-ted between guides n n. This slide J has a half-round groove, t', made in it, to receive a semi-cylindrical bed, K, ou which the tile-blank L is placed, the rear end of said bed K bearing against an upright lip or ledge,j, at the rear end of the slide J. (See Figs. 2, 3, and 7.) The under side of the slide J is provided with a rack, 7c, into which a pinion, M4, gears, and this pinion is on atubular shaft or sleeve, N, which is fitted looselyv on a shaft, O, the latter passing transversely through the bed I, and formed with aconical shoulder, l, which, when the slide J is moved along to feed the ijle-blank to the cutter H, is drawn snugly within a conical seat or recess in the outer side of the pinion M by means of a nut, l?, on the outer end of the shaft O, said nut bearing against the outerend of the tubular-shaft or sleeve N. (See Fig. 5.) By this lneans the pinion M is connected with the shaft 0 and made to turnv with it, in order to move the slide J as theA power is' applied to sha-ft O. This shaft O is operated from a vertical rotating` shaft, Q, at one side of the framing A, by means of a screw, R, and a wormwheel, L, and the shaft Q, is rotated from `the driving-shaft B by means of bevel-gears fm. (See Fig. 2,) The object in having the pinion M connected with the shaft O by friction, as described, is to admit of said pinion being readily disconnected from shaft O, for the purpose of moving back the slide J when it has reached the extent of its forward movement. To effect this the nut P is loosened, and the tubular shaft or sleeve N turned by means of handles n, at its outer end.

The cutter H, it will be seen, has a positive movement, and will penetrate into the fileblank L an equal distance at each cnt, or, in other words, the depth of the cuts will be all precisely alike, provided the file-blank be of an equal thickness throughout its entire length, and the feed of the slide J will, of course, be uniform, so as to insure the cuts being 1n adein the blank at equal distances apart. This feed is continuous, and a great advantage is obtained lby that, as the le-blank under the feed movementis pressed against the cutter H when the latter is performing its cut, and a sharp burr is, in consequence, thrown upon the edge of each tooth.

The file-blank L is secured on the bed K by means of two jaws, a fn', one, n, of which is stationary, and the other, a', movable. The movable jaw n' is providedwith arod,0, which passes longitudinally through the tixed jaw a, and has a screw and a nut, p, on its outer end. These two jaws are made to grasp the tang q of the file-blank by adjusting thejaw n', through the medium of the screw and nut, as will be understood by referring to Fig. 7.

The jawn is not designed to be permanently fixed, but to be capable of being adjusted in 4different positions in the bed K, so as to suit tangs of diii'erent sizes or widths, and admit of the blanks L being secured centrally on the bed K. This is not a necessity, but it would be preferable to have the file-b ter of the bed K.

Having now described the parts pertaining to the operation of the cutter, the feed movement ofthe le-blanl ,ai1d the mode of securing the blank in its bed, I will proceed to describe the vertical adjusting movement of the nie-blank, in order to compensate forthe varying thickness of the blank should such variati`on exist.

mit willwbeY observed that the cutter is opel ated by apositive means, and, as previously stated, will penetrate the {ile-blank to a certain and equal distance at each cut provided the blank is ot' an equal thickness throughout. The iile-blanks, however, will generally vary in` thickness, and in order to compensate for this variation thefollowing means is employed: The bed I is titted upon three screws, T T' T', all of which are shown in Fig. 3. These screws pass vertically through the base plate U of the framing and work in internal threads therein, and the three screws are connected by Vgears V. On thelowe r end ofthe central screw, T, thereis keyed a worm-wheel, YV, into which a screw, X, on a horizontal shaft, Y, gears, and from which shaft motion is communicated to the central screw, the latter communicating motion to the screws T' T' by the gears V. By means of these screws it will he seen that the bed I maybe raised and lowered, and this movement is designed to compensate for any variation in the thickness of the tileblank. If the blank is low at a certain point where the cutter H is'to act upon it., the bed l, and consequently the filevhlank, will be raised,and said parts lowered when the cutter is to act upon a part of the hie-blank which is high. This bed I is raised and lowered to accomplish this result at the proper time by the following mechanism: On the shaft Y there areflrmly keyed two ratchets, Z Z', which have their teeth in opposite positions, one, Z, being designed for a right and the other, Z', for a left hand movement. These ratchets are operated at the proper time by means ot pawls A' A", which are pivoted to an arm, B' ,the latter projecting from a sleeve or collar, C', placed loosely on shaft Y. The arm B' is connected to the lower end of a rod, D', the upper end of which is connected to an eccentric, E', on one end of the driving-shaft B. The pawl A' engages with the ratchet Z, and the pawl A" engages with the ratchet Z', said pawls having a spring, r,applied to them to keep them in contact with the ratchets.

On the shalt Y there is placed, loosely, a co1- lar or sleeve, F', having at one end a pinion, G', and at the opposite end a cam, H', and a concentric collar, I', adjoining the cam. (See Figs. l and 6.)

J' represents a brake, which is composed ot' a shoe, s, at the lower end of a rod, t, which is fitted vertically in the base-plate U, and has a-spiral spring, u, bearing against its upper end,as shown clearly in Fig. l, said spring `pressing the shoe s upon they collar l' suff lank at thatchciently hard to prevent any casual turning ot' which prevents it from dropping too low, in`

the sleeve or collar F.' The sleeve or collar C', to which the pawlarm B' is attached, has another arm, K', projecting from it at right angles, or nearly so, with the arm D', andthis arm K' has a pin, c, extending from it at right angles. This Vpin c, when the arm K'is moved upward, passes underneath the outer edge of the shoe s and raises it from the collar I', so as to leave the sleeve or collar F free to turn. This liberation of the sleeve or collar C' is effected when the .mcutter is nearly down, just before it comes in contact with the tile-blank, the eccentric E' being placed on shaft B in such a position as to' effect that result. The liberation of the sleeve or collar C admits of its being turned on the shaft Y in order that the cam H' may act upon the pawls'A' A" and throw them out, eitheror both, from the ratchets ZZ., when necessary, the pawl A" being thrown out from the ratchet Z' when the bed I is to be lowered, so that the other pawl, A', may engage with the ratchet Z, and the pawl A" being made to engage with ratchet Z' when the bed requires to be raised. The pawls A A have rollers ax attached, against which the cam acts.

The sleeve or collar F' is turned by means of a toothed segment, L', engaging with the pinion G'. This segment is at the inner end of an arm, M', the outer end of which has a hub, N', attached, provided with journals which work in pendent bearings underneath the base-plate V. Upon this hub N', at the rear of its journals, the lower end of a vertical shaft, O', rests, and upon the upper end of said shaft the rear end of a bar, P', rests, the front end of said bar provided with an eye, fw, to iit on a horizontal pin, a'.

The arm M' has a sliding weight, Q', upon it, which, when the arm M' is free, has a tendency to throw the segment L' down and rotate the sleeve or collar F' in the direction indicated by arrow 1, (see Fig. 3,) and by said movement cause the cam H' to throw the pawl' A" out from the ratchet Z', and to allow the pawl A' to be in contact or engage with the ratchet Z, so that the shaft Y may be turned in the proper direction to lower the bed I, and consequently the le-blank. The bed I is raised by moving the segment L' upward so as to rotate the sleeve or collar F' in the direction indicated by arrow 2, and cause the cam H' to throw the pawl A' outfrom ratchet Z and admit of the pawl A" engaging with ratchet Z'. This moving upward of the segment L' is effected by a downward pressure on the bar P', which is given it by means of what I term a feelerJ This feeler is composed of a horizontal bar, Q", which is underneath the cutter-stock F, and has springs R' attached to its ends, the upper ends of said springs bearing against the upper part of the cutter-stock F. This bar or 'eeler Q has a stem, bx, attached vertically to it, which stem passes up into the stock F and is allowed to slide therein, the stem being secured by a screw, c",

consequence of coming in contact with a shoulder, d". (See Fig. 3.)

The bar or feeler QX is directly in front ot` the cutter H, and it is the medium through which the rising and falling movement of the bed I is effected in a proper or accu/rate manner.

When the cutter H descends the feeler QX will strike the file-blank L first if the latter be too high, and the strings It' will yield or give so as not to prevent the descent of the cutter-stock F. and as soon kas the sleeve or collar F' is liberated by the elevation of the brake J', which is done at every revolution of the driving-shaft B, the segment L' drops under the gravity ofthe weight Q', and the pawl A' engages with ratchet Z, and the shaft Y turns in the proper direction to lower the bed I, the bar .P' being raised,as the segment L' drops in contact with the bar or feeler Q". This liberation of the sleeve or collar F' takes place only once at each revolution of shaft B, and is liberated for a short time only, the brake J' descending upon collar I' as soon as the pin e of arm K passes said brake, and in case the bed I requires more than one upward movement to bring the file-blank L to a proper level plenty ot' time is allowed for so doing, as the bar or feeler Q is in advance of the cutter H.

In case the file-blank is too low the bar or feeler QX will first strike the bar P' and press it down, thereby raising the arm M' and segment L', and causing the sleeve or collar F' to turn in the direction indicated by arrow 2, Fig. 3, and the cam H' to throw the pawl A' out from ratchet Z, and the pawl A" to engage with ratchet Z', so that the shaft Y will be turned in the proper direction to lower the bed I. l

When the tile-blank is at a proper level the arm M' will be about in a horizontal position, and the cam H' against the rollers of both pawls, so as to keep both ot' them free from their respective ratchets Z Z'.

Thus by this arrangement the'le-blank is always kept at a proper or uniform level, so as to have the same relative position with the cutter, however much the blank may vary in thickness.

I do not claim a rolling or semi-cylindrical bed for the tile-blank, for that is an old device neither do I claim the arrangement described for' giving the backward movement to the slide on which the ijle-bed is placed, for that, also, is old; nor do I claim, broadly, or in the abstract, the giving of the cutter a positive movement; but

Having thus described my invention, what' I do claim as new, and desire t0 secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The securing of the cutter-stock F to the reciprocating head E in the manner shown, or in any equivalent way, so thatl said cutter stock may be turned and adj usted at any point within the scope of its movement to give the cutter a proper oblique position with the fileblank, and the cutter always have .its cuttingedge in a horizontal plane.

2. Placing thereciprocating head E between inclined guides a a, so that said head will work in an inclined direction, when said head, thus arranged, is used in combination with a cutter-stock, F, applied in the manner substantiallyas described.

3. The securing of the file-blank L to the bed K by means ot' the jaws n n', arranged substantially as set forth.

4. The raising and lowering1 of the bed I to compensate for the varying thickness ot' the tile-blank L, by means substantially as described.

5. The means employed for communicating` from shaft B motion intermittently and in either direction to the shaft Y, which turns .the central screw, T-i-to wit, the two ratchets, Z

y Z', pawls A' A", operated from the shaft B, as

shown and described, thesleeve or collar F' on shaft Y,with pinion G', and the cam H' JAMES O. COOKE.

Witnesses:

WM. DEAN OVERELL, M. M. LIVINGSTON. 

